Hermana Schmidt

Growing Up

My name is Hermana Nicole Schmidt. I have been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints since I was born. I was born and raised in the beautiful Utah Valley, into a family with eventually a plethora of 10 kids. I fall right in the middle of the group - #5 - and love all of my crazy awesome siblings. My mom is an accountant/college professor and my dad is a junior high teacher so you better believe bad grades were not even an option in my household. I did cheerleading while I was growing up and although I stopped cheering after high school, I did continue coaching. I am passionate about music- specifically the piano. I also play the ukulele and guitar, but i'm nowhere near good at playing those instruments. I have loved reading since I was a wee laddie and will read anything from Harry Potter to an African Genocide book. My favorite book of all time is the Book of Mormon, but I also do like Left To Telland The Great and Terrible Series.

Favorites(my favorites when i'm not serving a mission)

Psych Reruns while eating extra cheddar goldfish + rootbeer.

Foot baths (running hot water on feet) while reading.

Watching a whole series of movies, because if you're going to start Harry Potter #1, you better finish the last movie that night.

Watching "The Cutting Edge" over and over and over and over and over and over again.

As you can see, choosing to go on a mission wasn't always an easy decision for me. I had a lot of doubts, and a lot of hard moments. In fact, i'm having extremely hard moments even now- only 2 weeks before leaving. There are moments I feel Heavenly Father forgot about me, or doesn't love me. But looking back I really attribute all of those really hard moments to The Adversary. Inadequacy, fear, and loneliness do not come from God.

I always knew a mission would be a great path to take, but I also always knew Heavenly Father gave me the choice to decide. He wasn't going to force me to go. I felt those feelings from my Heavenly Father multiple times the past almost 2 years. However, I did feel a lot of good feelings about going and the amazing things He wanted to show me through on my mission if I did go. I can't even begin to tell you the amazing things he has already shown me before even leaving! The biggest thing is that I feel my love capacity has expanded by 1000%. He has given me impressions and feelings about how much he loves every single one of his children. It is truly beautiful! I can't quite explain those feelings, all I can say is that He cares about every single one of us. The begger, the athlete, the lonely, the popular, the short, the tall, the mean, the nice, the giving, the taker.... It doesn't matter what we do or who we are - his love does not change.

Some of you might look at this and wonder why I would do this even with all of those hard moments, and i'm sure the hard moments to come? The reason I am going on a mission is because I want God's children in the Dominican Republic to know that He loves them, that He can help them, that He gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to this world so that His Son can change and cleanse them. I want others to know that we will all live again and that families really can be together forever! That all the wrongs in life will be made right. I want others to have peace and joy in this troubled world, the real peace and lasting joy that only come from living the gospel of Jesus Christ.

UT ----> DR

When I opened my call to serve in the Dominican Republic

my testimony

I know that by using the Atonement, people can really change. I know that Heavenly Father and his son, Jesus Christ, live and love us. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that Joseph Smith really did see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in a grove of trees and they really did tell him to restore the church Christ established while He lived on the Earth before it was lost. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and can bring us closer to God by reading it every day. I know that the Bible is also the word of God if it is translated correctly. I know that we have a living prophet, Thomas S. Monson, who is much like the ancient ones in the Bible and BoM, because he is directed by God and leads us by inspiration. I know these things are true because I have prayed and asked my Heavenly Father if they are true, and I felt the Holy Ghost tell me they are true. You can know if these things are true by praying and asking, and you will feel the Holy Ghost tell you in a way that you understand, that they are true. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.